VietNamNet Bridge - Students only need to get a 12.75 score out of 30 on three exam subjects to be eligible to apply for pedagogical schools. 

To successfully enroll in the preschool faculty at the Thai Nguyen University of Education, one must have at least a 20.5 score. The minimum required scores are lower for other majors: 17.5 for literature, 15.5 for mathematics, 16.5 for history. Students just need to 15.5 scores for chemistry, physics, biology, informatics and music faculties.

The faculty which requires the highest score, 17.5, at the Hue University of Education is literature. A 16.5 score for geography education and 16 for mathematics are required. The scores for other faculties are surprisingly low, just 12.75 scores are needed to apply for physics, history, chemistry and biology majors.

Only the most prestigious schools including the Hanoi and HCMC Universities of Education still set high minimum scores. The highest score of 26.27 is required for literature and mathematics, while the lowest score of 17 is required for Informatics and national defence.

“The low required minimum scores show the students’ lack of interest in pedagogical schools,” said Vu Thu Huong, a lecturer at the Hanoi University of Education.

Huong said that teaching has become less favored recently because they have to bear too much pressure from education departments, headmasters, parents and society. The career is less respected by people and society than in the past.

“Many parents get angry and show disrespect to teachers if their children are reprimanded,” Huong explained.

A preschool teacher said teaching is a ‘dangerous’ career. She has to work 12 hours a day, but if she makes a mistake, she will face anger from children’s parents and dismissal.

The low pay of VND3-5 million for teachers is another factor.  An economics graduate receives VND8-10 million after 5 years of experience. 

A report showed that despite the high percentage of unemployed pedagogical school graduates, the number of students registering to study at pedagogical universities is still high: 39,000 students, or 6.2 percent of total students, have applied for the schools.

In related news, reports from 63 local education departments show there are thousands of 10/10 scores at the 2017 high school finals, an ‘abnormally’ high number compared with 68 exam papers which had a 10/10 score last year.

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Mai Thanh